Moving

II'm moving to Stockton, California August 4th to pursue a Master's at UOP. I'm finishing what I started six years ago.
I have the support of so many that it's almost overwhelming. Trust me when I say that this is a leap I know I will not regret. I've spent the last nine months getting excited about it and it didn't hit me until recently that this is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Sure ... the move itself is daunting and the preparation so far has been stressful, but that's not what I'm talking about.

Southwest Missouri is my home. I have lived here, literally, since I was born. I was raised in Lamar and when I graduated high school I attended Missouri Southern in Joplin ... thirty minutes from my parents and my home town. Moving away from home was extraordinarily difficult for me because I've always been a small town family girl at heart. Those who know me also know that I get attached to people very easily. My entire life I have clung to the familiar because I am so deeply in love with the people in my surrounding area. I chose MSSU to stick with the familiar, knowing in my heart that I deserved a better education. I'm not saying it's not a good school ... it is. Attending MSSU turned out to be a great decision because I met some of the most amazing people I've ever met and the professors there are wonderful ... professionally and personally. But my reluctance to venture out of my comfort zone kept me working part-time jobs and staying close to my family instead of pursuing a degree I was passionate about.

When this past academic year started and I realized that I was not enrolling to continue my education and had a Bachelor's degree I wasn't using, I set my sights on greater things. My exhaustion with Joplin and boredom with my life had finally started driving me crazy. It was time to shop for a school again: this time, with no restrictions.

I will be starting my Master's in less than a month, and at a great school far from home. But I will truly miss being able to walk down the street and run into six or seven people that I know. I will miss my co-workers so much I can hardly stand the thought of leaving. Serving tables has never been a burden. It has been a pleasure. My co-workers are some amazing people and I don't know where I would be without most of them. I love people, so the opportunity to make a living talking to others was never difficult for me; however, I am not suited to life in a small town at this point in my life. I am a talented and determined young lady and I should use those qualities to their best advantage while I have the energy to do it.

The last few years, I feel like all I've done is say good-bye to the people I love. I've had a lot of friends move away to pursue their dreams and I finally feel like it's my turn. Even my brothers have moved away. Wesley is in Virginia loving the Navy and Jordan will be teaching "bright young scholars" in the fall. My best friends are strewn about the United States ... from Missouri to New York. It's time for me to come out of this coma in which I've been for the last year and live the life of adventure that I know I can handle.

Friends, I know this is good for me. But please bear with me as I shed millions of tears. Thank you for all of your support.
I guess this is growing up.